Emerson / Kingsbury Case

Summary

Laura Emerson was the first person in the National Capital Region to be charged under Canada's 2005 law on human trafficking. Information about this case first came to light in media reports in August 2008. Ms. Emerson, along with boyfriend and co-accused Mr. Kingsley, faced a series of charges under the Criminal Code. It was alleged that these two adults had abducted three teenaged girls near a shelter for young women in Ottawa, taken them to an apartment on Alexandre-Taché Boulevard in Gatineau, Québec, and held them there for months. The girls were allegedly drugged, tethered inside the apartment for periods of several days, and forced into prostitution. Their attempts to escape were met with brutal punishment. All three girls were minors at the time they were abducted.

The counts against Ms. Emerson included charges under Criminal Code ss. 145(3)(a) Failure to comply with condition of undertaking or recognizance, 212 Procuring, 268 Aggravated assault, 279 Kidnapping and 279.01 Trafficking in persons. In April 2009, Laura Emerson pleaded guilty to several charges, including trafficking in persons. She was sentenced to serve seven years plus double the eight months and ten days that she had served in pre-trial custody. The court imposed conditions requiring that she not contact the victims, submit a DNA sample, comply with the rules set out in the Sex Offender Information Registration Act, and refrain from owning a gun for ten years.

The counts against Mr. Kingsbury included charges under: ss. 145(3)(b) Failure to comply with condition of undertaking or recognizance, 212 Procuring, 271 Sexual assault, 279 Kidnapping and 279.01 Trafficking in persons. In 2009, Gordon John Kingsbury pleaded guilty to living off the avails of a prostitution network and to sexually assaulting one of the young victims. He reportedly received a 14-month sentence with three years’ probation.

Media reports

L. Payton, Ottawa woman gets seven years in teen-luring case, The Ottawa Citizen, 10 April 2009.-- The article above states that the sentence was seven years "less time served". A correction in The Ottawa Citizen dated 16 April 2009 gives the correct sentence: "seven years in prison, in addition to double the eight months and 10 days she had served in pre-trial custody."